CeleritasPrime
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- Location
- Miami, Flori-duh
The goal here was to install the rear part of a dash cam, following this excellent DIY on The Source of All Knowledge, aka YouTube.
However.
I broke the boot/grommet running from the body. This, left unfixed, would allow water to run into the headliner. What I did wrong, was attempting to force in the bottom part without fitting the little tab under the sheet metal first. You'll see it in the video.
Back to The Source for ShopDAP's DIY video on replacing the boot. THIS PROCESS SUCKS and is not as easy as the video makes it out to be. Also, Paul's car is a 2015 and doesn't have a back-up camera so on 2016+ cars you also need to pull all of the plastic off the rear hatch, which you can reference here.
After hours and frustration, here's my DIY. Sorry, no video as this is a family site.
TOOLS
Torx T20 with the driver of your choice
Pick set
Gentlemen's absorbent power (yes, really).
A spool of twist tie material -- string would work too, but you need a spool, or at least 10' to make it work.
Small utility or Xacto knife
TESA tape
Hemostats for retrieving left-behind body clips
Coat hanger or other fishing mechanism
Electrical or masking tape (disposable)
Disassembly
First, remove the flat trim piece above the hatch opening on the body. You can do this by pulling it down. It will make a gawdawful noise -- it's OK. If any body clips are left behind in the body, use the hemostats to get them out. Place them back in the trim where they came out. Next, remove the horizontal trim piece at the top of the back window on the hatch.
If your car has a backup camera, you will need to pull off the two vertical trim bits alongside the windows. You will also need to remove the main lower hatch trim by removing the four T20 bolts. Then, remove the little tail light access panels and gently but firmly pull the panel to remove it from the car.
Next, follow the two antenna cables and (if equipped) the backup camera cables from the boot along to where they attach. The two antenna cables attach to little modules on the bottom of the rear window sill; the ground attaches via a T20 to the body; the rear-view camera goes all the way down and around to the VW logo. TAKE PICTURES -- lots of them -- as you will need them to line back up again right where the are now. This is important because if you route them willy-nilly they can easily get crushed or cut when you put the panels back in. After you are satisfied you know where the cables are now, use the utility knife to cut the tape holding them to the body attachment points. Use a pick or a small screwdriver to gently release the connectors.
Also, look inside the hatch where the cables come out -- there's a little plastic hose in there for the rear window washer. This fits on a little plastic nipple and is held in place with a black clip that goes about half way around the connector. Use a pick (or your finders if they're tiny) to pop loose the clip - it will still hang on the connector but it will release it from the nipple.
Next, use a pick or similar tool to release the clips on the white plastic bits holding the boot to the hatch and the body. The clips are located on the "outside" of the curve. The clips will release, and then you can work the boots loose. After you have the boots loose, gently work the wires and the water hose out of the boot.
The easy part is over. The rest sucks.
Reassembly
REMEMBER -- the boots are the same from one side to the other, but the end of the boot with the little extra rubber ear on it MUST GO ON THE BOTTOM -- the body end. I did this backward. Twice. Don't be me.
Sprinkle some of the baby powder / gentlemen's powder (I used Chassis Man Care) into the boot. Trust me, this will make things easier. You can use the rest later on yourself (or a friend) if you wish.
Next, feed through the camera cable. Be very protective of the connector. Be sure the "ear" is on the body end of the cable. Once you have the camera cable through, feed your twist-tie or string in, again from the body side, with the spool still attached. Feed it all the way through, plus about a foot and a half.
Wrap the string or twist tie around the water hose a few times and use some electrical or masking tape to hold it on. DO NOT cut the string yet. You will need it to still be threaded to get the rest of the cables back through. Then, gently pull on the string you have already fed through and the hose will slide pretty easily through the boot.
Once the hose is through, cut off the bit of wire you already used (no need to do this with string) as it will be weakened from pulling -- to me, this is the benefit of using the wire as this provides a natural "fuse" which can help from damaging the cables you are pulling. Leave yourself a foot and a half or so of fresh wire or string. Then, wrap the wire or string around the longer antenna cable -- the one that goes over to the left connector -- and tape the cable and connector to the string or wire. Use the tape to make a little "ramp" to help ease it through. Pull the wire or string, slowly and patiently, working the connector through the boot with your fingers from the outside like a lego in a cat's colon (long horrible story).
Next, wrap the shorter antenna wire and the ground wire together in the wire or string and tape them on. Again, make a little "ramp" to help them on their journey through the dark tunnel. Pull the wire or string gently, and again work from the outside to help them along, and after much cursing and cajoling they will come out the other side.
Victory -- sort of. Chances are you're doing this because you wanted to add a new wire, probably for a camera, just like I did. Now's the time to use the coat hanger to get that through. There should actually be a fair amount of room in the boot, and since the camera probably doesn't have a bulky connector it should go quickly.
Now.
DON'T BREAK THE BOOT AGAIN.
There's a fixed tab on the end opposite the clip of each end of the boot. This tab pushes back over the sheet metal; you may need to help it with a pick or other small tool, inside the white part of the boot, until the boot slides all the way back into the cutout. Then, a gentle push will cause the latch to grab and you will be good to go.
Wiring
Cut small strips of the TESA tape -- 3/4 of an inch or so. Loop them around the backside of the little standoffs that had the tape you cut earlier. Then, place the cable as per the pics you took earlier and wrape the tape around the cable. It's tempting to use zip ties here but I don't recommend it -- the zip ties can click against the body and cause rattles, and also if you ever had to do this again cutting the zip tie without damaging the wire is not easy. If you do choose to use zip ties, wrap the zip ties in TESA tape anyway to keep the clicking down.
TAKE YOUR TIME and route the cables correctly, especially the backup camera cable, as it's really easy to crush this cable when replacing the trim. I nearly killed it myself, and replacing this cable would hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Panels
Push the main panel back on, bending it a but to get the corners in the window area. Push the body clips in, but leave the corners along the bottom of the window just a little loose. This will help when you wedge the side trim in. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO PINCH ANYTHING.
Once you get the side pieces in, go ahead and bang everything in, then put the four Torx screws back where they go. The horizontal panels go on pretty easy on the hatch and the body.
This took me HOURS by trial and error. Hopefully with these tips you can spend a lot less time on it....but don't rush. You can do real damage. Stop. Breathe. Relax.
When completed, a cold beer in mandatory.
However.
I broke the boot/grommet running from the body. This, left unfixed, would allow water to run into the headliner. What I did wrong, was attempting to force in the bottom part without fitting the little tab under the sheet metal first. You'll see it in the video.
Back to The Source for ShopDAP's DIY video on replacing the boot. THIS PROCESS SUCKS and is not as easy as the video makes it out to be. Also, Paul's car is a 2015 and doesn't have a back-up camera so on 2016+ cars you also need to pull all of the plastic off the rear hatch, which you can reference here.
After hours and frustration, here's my DIY. Sorry, no video as this is a family site.
TOOLS
Torx T20 with the driver of your choice
Pick set
Gentlemen's absorbent power (yes, really).
A spool of twist tie material -- string would work too, but you need a spool, or at least 10' to make it work.
Small utility or Xacto knife
TESA tape
Hemostats for retrieving left-behind body clips
Coat hanger or other fishing mechanism
Electrical or masking tape (disposable)
Disassembly
First, remove the flat trim piece above the hatch opening on the body. You can do this by pulling it down. It will make a gawdawful noise -- it's OK. If any body clips are left behind in the body, use the hemostats to get them out. Place them back in the trim where they came out. Next, remove the horizontal trim piece at the top of the back window on the hatch.
If your car has a backup camera, you will need to pull off the two vertical trim bits alongside the windows. You will also need to remove the main lower hatch trim by removing the four T20 bolts. Then, remove the little tail light access panels and gently but firmly pull the panel to remove it from the car.
Next, follow the two antenna cables and (if equipped) the backup camera cables from the boot along to where they attach. The two antenna cables attach to little modules on the bottom of the rear window sill; the ground attaches via a T20 to the body; the rear-view camera goes all the way down and around to the VW logo. TAKE PICTURES -- lots of them -- as you will need them to line back up again right where the are now. This is important because if you route them willy-nilly they can easily get crushed or cut when you put the panels back in. After you are satisfied you know where the cables are now, use the utility knife to cut the tape holding them to the body attachment points. Use a pick or a small screwdriver to gently release the connectors.
Also, look inside the hatch where the cables come out -- there's a little plastic hose in there for the rear window washer. This fits on a little plastic nipple and is held in place with a black clip that goes about half way around the connector. Use a pick (or your finders if they're tiny) to pop loose the clip - it will still hang on the connector but it will release it from the nipple.
Next, use a pick or similar tool to release the clips on the white plastic bits holding the boot to the hatch and the body. The clips are located on the "outside" of the curve. The clips will release, and then you can work the boots loose. After you have the boots loose, gently work the wires and the water hose out of the boot.
The easy part is over. The rest sucks.
Reassembly
REMEMBER -- the boots are the same from one side to the other, but the end of the boot with the little extra rubber ear on it MUST GO ON THE BOTTOM -- the body end. I did this backward. Twice. Don't be me.
Sprinkle some of the baby powder / gentlemen's powder (I used Chassis Man Care) into the boot. Trust me, this will make things easier. You can use the rest later on yourself (or a friend) if you wish.
Next, feed through the camera cable. Be very protective of the connector. Be sure the "ear" is on the body end of the cable. Once you have the camera cable through, feed your twist-tie or string in, again from the body side, with the spool still attached. Feed it all the way through, plus about a foot and a half.
Wrap the string or twist tie around the water hose a few times and use some electrical or masking tape to hold it on. DO NOT cut the string yet. You will need it to still be threaded to get the rest of the cables back through. Then, gently pull on the string you have already fed through and the hose will slide pretty easily through the boot.
Once the hose is through, cut off the bit of wire you already used (no need to do this with string) as it will be weakened from pulling -- to me, this is the benefit of using the wire as this provides a natural "fuse" which can help from damaging the cables you are pulling. Leave yourself a foot and a half or so of fresh wire or string. Then, wrap the wire or string around the longer antenna cable -- the one that goes over to the left connector -- and tape the cable and connector to the string or wire. Use the tape to make a little "ramp" to help ease it through. Pull the wire or string, slowly and patiently, working the connector through the boot with your fingers from the outside like a lego in a cat's colon (long horrible story).
Next, wrap the shorter antenna wire and the ground wire together in the wire or string and tape them on. Again, make a little "ramp" to help them on their journey through the dark tunnel. Pull the wire or string gently, and again work from the outside to help them along, and after much cursing and cajoling they will come out the other side.
Victory -- sort of. Chances are you're doing this because you wanted to add a new wire, probably for a camera, just like I did. Now's the time to use the coat hanger to get that through. There should actually be a fair amount of room in the boot, and since the camera probably doesn't have a bulky connector it should go quickly.
Now.
DON'T BREAK THE BOOT AGAIN.
There's a fixed tab on the end opposite the clip of each end of the boot. This tab pushes back over the sheet metal; you may need to help it with a pick or other small tool, inside the white part of the boot, until the boot slides all the way back into the cutout. Then, a gentle push will cause the latch to grab and you will be good to go.
Wiring
Cut small strips of the TESA tape -- 3/4 of an inch or so. Loop them around the backside of the little standoffs that had the tape you cut earlier. Then, place the cable as per the pics you took earlier and wrape the tape around the cable. It's tempting to use zip ties here but I don't recommend it -- the zip ties can click against the body and cause rattles, and also if you ever had to do this again cutting the zip tie without damaging the wire is not easy. If you do choose to use zip ties, wrap the zip ties in TESA tape anyway to keep the clicking down.
TAKE YOUR TIME and route the cables correctly, especially the backup camera cable, as it's really easy to crush this cable when replacing the trim. I nearly killed it myself, and replacing this cable would hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Panels
Push the main panel back on, bending it a but to get the corners in the window area. Push the body clips in, but leave the corners along the bottom of the window just a little loose. This will help when you wedge the side trim in. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO PINCH ANYTHING.
Once you get the side pieces in, go ahead and bang everything in, then put the four Torx screws back where they go. The horizontal panels go on pretty easy on the hatch and the body.
This took me HOURS by trial and error. Hopefully with these tips you can spend a lot less time on it....but don't rush. You can do real damage. Stop. Breathe. Relax.
When completed, a cold beer in mandatory.
